Following the release of 3D action platformer Duskfade, developer Weird Beluga was kind enough to talk to us about the studio’s plans going forward. The subject of our conversation ranged from player feedback, the inspirations behind the clockpunk aesthetic, and even whether we might see some sort of DLC or other kinds of additional content released for the game.
Now that Duskfade is finally out and players have had time to experience the full game, what has been the number one piece of feedback Weird Beluga has received from the community?
One of the comments we’ve received the most is that Duskfade has taken players back to their childhood, when they used to play classic platforming games.
Another thing we’ve heard quite a lot is that more than one person has shed a little tear because they connected with Allira and her loss. That means a lot to us, because it shows that her story managed to reach people on an emotional level.
And finally, one of the things that makes us especially happy is hearing from parents who are playing the game with their children. We’ve read some really lovely stories about how excited their kids are to keep playing every afternoon because they have to save Allira. Seeing families enjoy the game together is honestly one of the most rewarding things we could have hoped for.
Duskfade has a very distinctive clockpunk identity, but its imagery also ties heavily into ideas of time, memory and loss. Outside of the well-known 3D platformer influences, what inspired the visual language and world itself?
At its core, everything revolves around that feeling we’ve all had at some point: wanting to go back in time. Even the game itself, by being inspired by the 3D platformers of the PS2 and N64 era, reinforces this idea through its own meta-narrative.
In terms of the visual language, one game that we really love and that was a big inspiration for us was Alice: Madness Returns. We really liked its way of creating a strange, colorful and slightly dark world, and that definitely influenced some of the visual identity of Duskfade.
Are there any plans to further explore Zirian and Allira’s story, whether through DLC, a sequel, or something else set in this universe?
Duskfade’s launch is still very recent, so it’s a little too early to talk about the future.
But we’re always talking among ourselves about what a sequel could look like. There are many possibilities we’d love to explore. Maybe we could tell Tristan’s story, or see Zirian and Allira a few years later, with Allira having become a true Master Clockmaker while Zirian is still trying to find his place in the world.
One of Duskfade’s most striking visual elements is how it depicts time itself breaking apart and affecting the world around Zirian. How did the team arrive at that visual concept?
We wanted time to truly feel frozen and broken, like when you receive shocking news and suddenly everything around you feels strange and unreal.
From the very beginning, we knew that the concept of a night that never progresses was something really interesting to explore. We then started building on that idea with elements such as fragmented crystals, which became some of the key visual elements of our vision for the world.
What were some of the biggest ideas that ended up on the cutting-room floor? Could any of them potentially return in DLC or a sequel?
One of the things we really wanted to include but ultimately had to leave out was the Coliseum. There are actually still a few conversations in the game that mention it.
The idea was to have different time-trial challenges that would really test your mastery of Zirian’s movement and ability to move through the world quickly, as well as combat challenges where you would have to manage your potions strategically.
We also wanted to include the possibility of replaying bosses, and perhaps even some secret challenges. These are all ideas we really like, so who knows… maybe some of them could find their way into a future DLC or sequel!
Duskfade is accessible enough for younger players but deals with subjects like grief and loss underneath its colourful presentation. What was the biggest challenge in finding that balance without making either side feel compromised?
We’ve always tried to make the game fun and accessible to everyone. When it comes to the story, we deal with some difficult and emotional subjects, but we approach them from a child’s perspective. That way, younger players can simply enjoy the adventure and understand the story on their own terms, while older players may pick up on the deeper themes and emotions behind it
One recurring point in reviews is that the platforming and visual design are among Duskfade’s strengths, while some critics found the combat relatively simple or repetitive. Now that you’ve seen that feedback, how do you feel about the balance the team ultimately struck between combat and platforming?
One of the things we really wanted to achieve with Duskfade’s combat was for it to feel agile, fast-paced, and heavily focused on mobility, much like the platforming. But perhaps we went a little too far in making Zirian so fast, which has made the combat feel simpler than we intended.
We’re collecting all the feedback we’ve been seeing, and we still want to make some adjustments to the combat to make it feel better and more satisfying overall.
